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CNN 'Fake News' Fallout: Does Undercover Video Mean More Heads Could Roll?

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President Donald Trump is using the resignations of three seasoned CNN journalists to back his claims that the network is not credible. 

The employees quit over a retracted news story about a supposed investigation into a pre-inaugural meeting between a Trump associate and the head of a Russian investment fund. CNN removed the story, which was based on one anonymous source, and any related links last week, saying it did not meet editorial standards. 

Early Monday morning, the veteran reporters and editors--Thomas Frank, Lex Haris and Eric Lichtblau--submitted their resignations.

Trump lashed out on Twitter, asking his followers what other fake news stories CNN was producing.

 

 

Meanwhile, more resignations could be coming from CNN. Overnight, 'Project Veritas' released undercover video of CNN producer John Bonifield admitting that the president is right to say the network is on a "witchhunt." (Warning: the video containes offensive language)

"I haven't seen any good enough evidence to show that the president committed a crime," he said. "I just feel like they don't really have it but they want to keep digging. And so I think the president is probably right to say, like, 'Look, you are witch hunting me. You have no smoking gun. You have no real proof.'"

Bonifield goes on to say the Russia narrative is "good for business" and that for CNN the driving factor is ratings.

"It's a business. People are like the media has an ethical phssssss… All the nice cutesy little ethics that used to get talked about in journalism school, you're just like, 'That's adorable. That's adorable. This is a business,'" he said.

According to Bonifield, the orders are coming straight from the top. 

Citing CNN CEO Jeff Zucker, he said: "Just to give you some context, President Trump pulled out of the climate accords and for a day and a half we covered the climate accords. And the CEO of CNN (Jeff Zucker) said in our internal meeting, he said, 'Good job everybody covering the climate accords, but we're done with that. Let's get back to Russia.'"

James O'Keefe, the founder of Project Veritas, says this only the beginning of undercover investigations into the media.

"To report not on facts, but instead on narratives that yield high ratings, is exactly the definition of fake news," said O'Keefe. "We said we are going after the media, and there is a lot more to come."

Following the release of the Project Veritas video, My Faith Votes CEO Jason Yates issued the following statement:

“I found it disturbing to listen to a senior news producer discussing the way one of our nation’s most esteemed news providers is handling issues that are of great concern for the American public. Today too much news is tabloid news, focused entirely upon making money or editorialized news to push a predetermined agenda. Rarely — on the right or the left — are we given the facts without those facts being intermingled in the opinions of those presenting them.

“Our country finds itself in an extremely sensitive moment. Americans deserve more from the press, and they deserve the truth. Otherwise trust in our sacred free press will continue to be eroded, and the press will be guilty of the very indiscretions of which they accuse our politicians.

“My Faith Votes calls American journalists to a higher standard, to take a fully non-partisan and judicious stand on matters that impact the everyday lives of Americans.”

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About The Author

Caitlin Burke Headshot
Caitlin
Burke

Caitlin Burke serves as National Security Correspondent and a general assignment reporter for CBN News. She has also hosted the CBN News original podcast, The Daily Rundown. Some of Caitlin’s recent stories have focused on the national security threat posed by China, America’s military strength, and vulnerabilities in the U.S. power grid. She joined CBN News in July 2010, and over the course of her career, she has had the opportunity to cover stories both domestically and abroad. Caitlin began her news career working as a production assistant in Richmond, Virginia, for the NBC affiliate WWBT